There's a $1 billion plot of land for sale on an LA hilltop big enough to fit a home the size of Disneyland, but only about 100 people in the world could buy it

Hillary HoffowerJul 31, 2018, 20:38 IST

The Society Group

The Mountain, a 157-acre property at the highest peak in Beverly Hills, is for sale for $1 billion.
The property is big enough to fit Disneyland and California Adventure theme parks, and has 1.5 million square feet of lots ready to be built upon.
The likely buyer is a billionaire who wants to build their own compound - but there are only about 100 people in the world who fit the bill, says the listing agent.

Up for sale: a 157-acre mountain at the highest peak in Beverly Hills towering over Los Angeles. And it's all yours for $1 billion.

Expensive real estate may come as no surprise in the famous 90210 zip code, but there's no denying the jaw-dropping value of a 10-figure price tag. It sets the record for Los Angeles' most expensive listing ever, reports the Los Angeles Times, and no one in the world has yet to pay that much for personal property (publicly known), according to the New York Times.

But the land itself is impressive. Located off of Benedict Canyon, "The Mountain," as it's called, is big enough to fit Disneyland and California Adventure. Sold as one plot, it comprises 17 parcels of land, with 1.5 million square feet of lots zoned and ready to be built upon.

According to a news release by PR firm The Society Group, estates and lots of this size are a rarity in Los Angeles.

But, as is common for Los Angeles, The Mountain has an intriguing history, being passed through many famous and wealthy hands. According to the Los Angeles Times, it was once owned by an Iranian princess, talk show host and TV producer Merv Griffin, and a nutrition mogul, all of whom held the land but never built anything on it.

Who will soon be added to the list?

"Our likely buyer for this property is an individual who wants to build his or her own compound," Aaron Kirman of Pacific Union International, the listing agent, said in the news release.

While Kirman's already shown the property to a few billionaires - one who conceptualized it as a "Huntington Garden-style oasis," - he told the Los Angeles Times he intends to use his $400,000 to $1 million-plus estimated marketing budget to fly around the world in search of more potential buyers.

"There are 2,800 billionaires in the world," Kirman told the Los Angeles Times. "We realized there are 100 of those that could and would want to buy the property."

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At 157 acres, the plot is "the size of a small city" that can fit all of Disneyland and still have 57 acres left. It's the largest property and highest point in all of Los Angeles, says Ronald Richards of Secured Capital Partners, the current owner, in the news release.

The buyer will be able to build up to 1.5 million square feet of buildings across 17 separate parcels of land with the nearest neighbor half a mile away. That's enough room for a "soccer field, amphitheater, helipad, and polo field side by side," according to the news release.

They'll also be able to build up to 53 feet high, which is 12 feet higher than normal in Los Angeles. That's all the more height to soak in the endless views of Los Angeles, Orange County, Catalina Island, and Santa Monica (when it's not trapped in smog). The plot is so elevated that no neighboring trees obstruct the preserved view.

The Mountain is heavy in security, featuring a private stone aggregate road, cobblestone drive, and a custom-designed security gate. More than 500 trees and 5,000 plants have been planted on the property already.

Millions of dollars have been spent on developing the property, including a sculpture court, landscape lighting design throughout the entire property, and a backup generator large enough to provide electricity to 300,000 square feet of buildings if there's a city wide power outage, the news release said.

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There's a $1 billion plot of land for sale on an LA hilltop big enough to fit a home the size of Disneyland, but only about 100 people in the world could buy it

At 157 acres, the plot is "the size of a small city" that can fit all of Disneyland and still have 57 acres left. It's the largest property and highest point in all of Los Angeles, says Ronald Richards of Secured Capital Partners, the current owner, in the news release.

The buyer will be able to build up to 1.5 million square feet of buildings across 17 separate parcels of land with the nearest neighbor half a mile away. That's enough room for a "soccer field, amphitheater, helipad, and polo field side by side," according to the news release.

The Mountain is heavy in security, featuring a private stone aggregate road, cobblestone drive, and a custom-designed security gate. More than 500 trees and 5,000 plants have been planted on the property already.